Paladins Ying x Androxous A Dance Between Darkness and Blossoms
by EpicSteph
Summary: A dance between the dark and the soft blossoms... A dance that got lowly looked upon and gained no attention of, until realized too late. Can the dark love something so pretty and innocent, or is that just a myth?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

The loud alarm clock rang as a sleepy Asian girl slowly stirred from her deep sleep. The bright sun shined through the glass window and into her tired face as the sound of birds chirping can be heard from the distance. The girl gently sat up on her bed and let out a silent yawn. Her eyes suddenly grew wide at the smell of scrambled eggs that her mom would always cook for her. She had always loved the smell of her mom's cooking, whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. Because of the smell, she quickly got off her comfy bed and rushed into the kitchen. Upon reaching to the kitchen, she notices her mom who was busy with her cooking.

"Good morning Mom!" greeted Ying. Her mom beamed a happy smile at her as she placed the scrambled egg on a clean white dish.

"Good morning Ying. You seemed to be in a good mood today." replied her mom.

"Mom, you know I'm always trying to stay positive every morning. Look, I know I haven't been in a happy mood for the past few weeks, but I'm trying to fix that," explained Ying. Her mom placed the dish on the table as Ying sat down and prepared to gobble down her breakfast.

"I know dear, I know things have been tough without your dad around the house but you're right. We should stay positive every morning. As long as you're happy, it makes me happy as well," said her mom. Ying couldn't help but smile at her mom's statement. Ying has been living without her dad ever since she had been born out of her mother's womb. It was tough on Ying growing up, having to deal with bullying because she only had one mother. Ying, not really knowing what having a father is really like, wished that she could meet him one day when she was little. But that wish changed when she realized the sad truth about why her father left her mother, and it left Ying a burden and regret of her life. Ying looked up from her food to the clock on the wall and notices the time.

"Well, looks like I have to go to school now," announced Ying as she finishes up her food and placed the bowl into the sink. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and begins to exit out of the door.

"Well, have a nice day at school Ying! Be careful out there when you're walking sweetie!" told Ying's mother.

"You have a nice day too mom, Love you!"

Stepping upon the sidewalk, she was greeted with a quiet and peaceful neighborhood. It was the perfect neighborhood where she can relax and be calm while she takes her mind off from school. If she was given a choice between her school and her neighborhood, she would've chosen this place instead. Every day, she was feared of going to school and get bullied by the other students. The other students would call her unkind names like a slut, whore, nerd, and other really rude names. Ying tried to ignore it, but it gets tough sometimes when she is pushed too far. She would tend to cry herself to sleep at night, thinking about how school _fucking_ sucks. However, she never told anyone about her situation at school, only because she doesn't want anyone worrying about her too much. Even her own mother doesn't know about her being bullied in school, but Ying knew the only way her mom would be happy is if she stays happy. However, she tends to ask herself, _Is it really worth doing all this in the end?_

The weather was still hot, especially in August when summer has just ended. Ying had her hair in a messy ponytail, a black long sleeve shirt, and jeans. It wasn't her normal outfit that she had normally wear, but she didn't really care and put whatever she had on.

Upon arriving at school, she had a feeling of regret building inside of her as if entering was a bad idea. There wasn't anything else she could do since she was basically forced to go to school. In her mind, school was a waste of time with teachers giving useless boring lectures and socializing with other people. Even if this was the case of why school sucked, she was still getting good grades.

As she entered the hallway, every student she passed gave her a dirty look as they whispered nasty words about her. Ying tried to ignore all of their cruel comments, as each word became a unphysical bullet, causing extreme pain into her fragile heart.

"Wow, who let this stupid bag of whore in here?"

"I hope she fucking kills herself."

"She's so damn ugly and hideous, I don't even want to look at her."

Ying, with a gloomy expression, reached her locker and opened it to get her textbooks. As she closes her locker, a big buff bald kid walked towards Ying and knocked the books out of her hand.

"Did you forget that you owe me lunch money? Don't make me beat you again like last time," warned Buck.

Ying stared at him in fear as her back faced towards the locker.

"Buck please, I don't have any more! I already gave all of my money yesterday," reassure Ying but Buck did not look convinced. He began to close in on her as he grabbed her wrist.

"Then you deserve this beating!"

He clenched his other hands into a fist and made a sweep motion towards Ying's stomach area until someone's hand stopped the fist from connecting.

"Huh?"

"Don't you ever dare try to hit a girl. If I catch you hitting her again, I won't spare you any mercy. Do I make myself clear?"

Buck turns towards the voice in confusion as a boy with short black hair, green eyes, light-colored skin (almost pale) with a scar on his nose stared right back with a death glare.

"Oh yeah, and who are you?" asked Buck.

In a quick motion, the boy had his hands wrapped around Buck's neck tightly.

"I said, do I make myself clear?"

Buck began to panic in terror as he tried to struggle in the boy's strong chokehold.

"Please, please, I'll leave her alone. Just please put me down!" demanded Buck.

The boy lets go of Buck's neck but then pushed him back with one hand. Buck fell down to the tiled floor as he quickly got up and ran away. The boy faced Ying and helped her pick up her books.

"You okay?" asked the boy.

"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for helping me. Sorry for causing you so much trouble," reply Ying. She began to avoid her eyes from him while she picked up her books.

"It's no problem," replied the boy. "By the way, the name is Andros, what's yours?"

"Umm, it's Ying," she replies. Andros gently gave her the books and nodded towards her.

"Nice name. You need to get to class now, you're going to be late,"

"Alright, thanks again for helping,"

And so they both left to their classrooms as Ying began to wonder who this Andros was and why she has never seen him before on the school campus. That question remains to be revealed later to her, she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"And as the limit goes through 2, x begins to..."

Ying began to bore her eyes on the chalkboard as her teacher an equation wrote on the board.

 _"What is even the point of this lesson? Its so easy yet useless" thought Ying_

Beside her, a girl with red hair named Cassie and another girl with black hair (dyed purple on the end) named Skye were talking to each other.

"You should totally come to the fall party that I'm hosting. It's going to be so fabulous," said Skye.

"I'm definitely going. There isn't any reason to not go," replied Cassie.

Ying rolled her eyes in annoyance as she thought they sounded too girly. Her mind begins to think about the old Cassie that she once knew. Cassie and Ying used to be best friends when they were kids which remain unforgettable to Ying, but for Cassie, this is not the case. Entering their freshman year of high school, Cassie acted differently and pretended that she never knew who Ying was for 3 years. While Ying felt left out, Cassie met more friends, and eventually became best friends with Skye, who was the most popular girl in the school. Like the other kids in school, Cassie had a tendency of calling her rude names. Even the tone of her voice has changed. She used to talk in a soft gentle voice, but now, she talks like she was the better than everyone in the school, like Skye.

Ying sighed as a flashback overcome her mind.

"Heads up!"

A medium-sized snowball directly hit Ying's head as she flinched in surprise. Cassie smirked in triumph. "Bullseye!"

"Hey! Watch it!" cried Ying.

It was a snowy December, just about the time before Christmas. Ying and Cassie had decided to meet up and play together like any best friends would do. If you had to list something that Cassie loved, it was definitely December, Christmas, and snow. Though, Cassie was the one who kept waking her up and begging her to come outside to play. Ying loved snow, but not the cold and all she wanted was to stay home with many books to read. Cassie couldn't just let her read boring books all day and miss the terrific moment of snow.

Ying quickly grabbed a chunk of snow in her small hands and threw it at Cassie, but she quickly rolled away with her athletic ability.

"Phew, that was a close one," said Cassie. Cassie stuck her tongue out playfully as she threw another snowball at Ying. Ying tried to sidestep it, but the snowball curved and hit her once again on the head. "I'm on a roll! Another headshot for me!" Cassie started doing her victory dance but as she danced, she did not notice Ying picking up a snowball. Ying grinned as she threw the snowball at Cassie and splatted into her face.

"Hah, that's what you get for being so cocky," told Ying. She tossed the snowball up and into her hands as she prepares to throw again. Cassie wiped the snowball off her face and laughed in a friendly way.

"Nice shot, I'm impressed, but can you keep up with this?" asked Cassie.

In a quick motion, Cassie threw an unexpected snowball, a snowball that Ying did not prepare for. However, Ying put her hands out to block the snowball just in time as the snowball crushed into pieces. Cassie stared at her best friend with her mouth open wide.

"What the, how did you-"

Cassie was interrupted when a snowball headed straight to her face and knocked her down to the ground. Ying place both of her hands over her mouth worriedly.

"Oh my god, Cassie! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" ask Ying. Ying rushed over to Cassie to make sure she wasn't hurt. Cassie slowly sat up and wiped the snow off her face as she grinned in excitement. "I'm so sorry Cass, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Ying had a look of panic and concern as if she had nearly killed her best friend.

"When did you have such a quick reaction and a good throwing arm?" asked Cassie.

Ying helped Cassie up as Cassie began wiping the snow off her clothes.

"It just happened I guess. I'm more worried about you than myself," reply Ying.

"I'm fine, it's just a snowball. It's not like it's going to kill or something," said Cassie.

All of a sudden, more snow as raining than usual and distance became shrouded by the thick mist.

"Ugh, what's up with this weather?" utter Cassie.

"Brr... it's ... cold..." said Ying. Ying wrapped her arms around her body as she shivers by the freezing temperature.

"Come on, let's get out of here before we get buried by all this snow," suggested Cassie and Ying simply nodded. They ran back into Cassie's house as the snow rained harder.

As they entered the house, they felt the warm soothing feeling from the blazing fire going on in the fireplace. They took off their coats and hung it on a hanger in the corner of the room as they made themselves at home. Ying looked around the living room, remembering how much she cherished this place every time Cassie had suggested that she should come over and play. There were family pictures hung on the walls and they all seemed very happy. There was also a bear that hung over the fireplace, which says a lot about Cassie's dad being a hunter. Cassie's dad walked into the living room and noticed the two girls sitting on the couch.

"You two are already done playing?" asked Cassie's dad.

"Yep!" said the two of them in unison.

Cassie's dad looked out of the window and noticed the huge snowstorm.

"Wow, this weather is pretty interesting, isn't it girls?" asked Cassie's dad.

Cassie rolled her eyes as she got up from her seat and walked over to what seems like a Christmas present that was hidden under the table.

"Dad, the weather literally interrupted our playtime outside. I don't think "interesting" would be the right word to describe it," replied Cassie.

Cassie's dad let out a joking laughter and took a slow sip from his coffee. Cassie's dad looked very similar to her own daughter. They had the same red hair and the same emerald eyes. However, Cassie's face was beautiful and gorgeous like her mom, something that her dad is very proud of. Ying also thought that Cassie was pretty, but she was never jealous of it because she wasn't the type of person who cared about looks. Ying was more of a kind and caring type of person who wishes everyone to be happy, even if she wasn't happy herself.

"By the way, Ying, is it okay for you to stay here? Are your parents going to be okay with it?" asked Cassie's dad.

"I'm sure my mom is going to be fine with it but you can call her just in case," propose Ying.

"Right, we don't want your mom to be really worried about you,"

With that, Cassie's dad left the room. Cassie sat down in front of Ying with two small sized presents wrapped in Christmas wrappings.

"By the way, has your dad returned yet from his business trip," asked Cassie.

The question had tense up Ying for a second, until she covered it up with a fake reassuring smile. No one really asked about her dad except Cassie.

"No, not yet. I really do miss him," said Ying.

Ying always had to think of a new excuse whenever Cassie had asked her about her dad. She hasn't revealed the truth about her dad yet and she intended to keep it a secret. It was just too tough for her to talk, and telling Cassie would cause her to feel sad and worried about her.

"Oh, well I have a present for you and for me, which I have been hiding from my dad for a while," said Cassie.

Cassie gave Ying the present as Ying looked at it in suspicion.

"Isn't it too early to open Christmas presents?" ask Ying.

"Consider it an early present to open," reply Cassie with a friendly grin.

"Cass, I swear, if this is one of your tricks, I will so-"

"It's not I sweeeeeaaaar!" begged Cassie as they both laughed playfully.

"Alright, alright, I'll open it," said Ying. She slowly opened her present and upon opening it, she gasped at the shiny item that was inside. Ying took it out to reveal a precious gold necklace that had a heart in the middle of it.

"Oh my god Cass, you didn't have to go out and buy me an expensive necklace," exclaim Ying. Cassie couldn't help but smile at Ying's reaction.

"Well, it was a sign of our friendship. Every time either of us is sad or lonely, we can always hold onto this necklace real tight so we won't forget that we have each other's back," explained Cassie. Cassie began to open her present and inside was the same gold necklace. "And look, I got one too,"

"I still can't believe you actually did this. You're the best Cassie!" cheer Ying. She rushed and hugged Cassie tightly.

"From now on, we shall be best friends till the end of time," announce Cassie.

"Agreed," reply Ying.

Ying thought sadly as she wished the things between them remain normal again. That's impossible now since Cassie absolutely hates her.

 _Why did you have to change Cass?_

"Hey dumbass, she's asking you a question," whispered Cassie.

"Huh?" Ying looked beside her to see Cassie with her slick smirk.

"I asked you a question Ying! Why didn't you answer?" yelled the teacher.

"I... I'm so sorry, what was your question again miss?" asked Ying. The teacher exhales in frustration as she repeated her question.

"What does x equal when the graph goes through point 3?" ask the teacher. Ying looked at the board and noticed a graph with a curvy line was drawn. She immediately knew the answer to the question, but before she could speak up, Cassie interrupted her.

"I don't think she knows the answer to that, Miss Alonge," announce Cassie.

Ying glare at Cassie as she winked back and Skye couldn't help but giggle mockingly.

"Well, that's a shame. I thought all of you understood this. Ying, please see me after class. You won't be leaving this classroom until you ]come talk to me," said Mrs. Alonge.

"Such a stupid bitch," whispered Cassie

"I know right," reply Skye.

Ying bit her bottom lip as tears tried to escape from her eyes but she tried holding it in. However, it was not enough as a single tear fell on her paper and stained it. Ying reached for her neck and grabbed the necklace that Cassie had given to her when they were kids.

 _Whatever happens to us? Whatever happened to this friendship we had?_

Ying squeezed the necklace tightly, trying to remember the old caring Cassie that she once knew.

 _"Don't worry Ying. I'll always be here for you, and I won't forget you,"_

Those were the words Cassie once told her, but all of it was a lie. Ying noticed that Cassie wasn't wearing her necklace and felt the feeling of betrayal. The bell rung loudly and Ying stood up to gather her books. As she finished, Cassie put a hand on her desk to gain her attention.

"Hope you have fun talking to Mrs. Alonge. Someone so troubled like you obviously deserve a harsh punishment. See ya little slut," said Cassie and with that, she left Ying without turning back.

"Ying, please come see me right now," called Miss Alonge.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

During lunch, all the students have rushed out of the classrooms as the sounds of chattering fill the hallway. They all headed to the large cafeteria to have their lunch, but Ying, on the other hand, walked to the library. She was obsessed with reading books since she reads them everyday whenever she gets a chance. She entered the building and was greeted by a kind librarian who was reading a novel. The librarian was a young and pretty lady who had the most unusual eye color. She had bright purplish pink colored eyes which sometimes look like it was glowing. She had a nice smooth tan skin which most of the girls were typically jealous of. In fact, most girls are jealous how attractive she looked for a librarian. Ying, however, saw the librarian as a very caring staff of the school and that was all.

"Why hello, Ying." greeted the librarian.

"Good afternoon Ms. Seris," respond Ying.

"Looks like you'll be having lunch here again," said Ms. Seris.

"Yep. I mean, this place has something that I really love, books. By the way, have you read that new book by Stephen King?"

"No, not yet, I heard good things about the book,"

"Well, I only read the first few chapters and it's so good. Is there any other books do you recommend?"

Ms. Seris thought for a second. There were countless books that she has read in the past and a book recommendation seems a little difficult since there were so many good books out there. After suggesting which book Ying should read, Ying went over to the table at the corner of the library as she sat down and begin taking out her lunch and book. She silently took a bite out of her lunch and continue reading the wonderful book by Stephen King. After for a couple of minutes of reading, she looks beside her to see if anyone was nearby, and in surprise, she saw the new kid Andros again who was reading a small black book in silence.

"Andros?" whispered Ying. Andros stopped reading for a second and glanced over to notice Ying.

"Oh hey, it's you again," reply Andros.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here to read, isn't that obvious?"

"I know I know but it's lunchtime. You should be eating lunch at the cafeteria,"

"What about you? Why are you not in the cafeteria,"

"Well..." Ying looked down at her book and her lunch for a moment. "This is where I eat lunch, alone and with my books,"

"Then, in that case, let me join you,"

"O...okay,"

Andros stood up and walked over to Ying's table to sit down. The two sat and read in awkward silence as Ying tried to come up with things to talk about. As she was about to open her mouth, Andros asked a question.

"So why are you here alone? Don't you have friends to meet?" asked Andros.

That question lead to depressing thoughts for Ying. It was the same question everyone had asked her. However, she couldn't blame Andros for asking since he was new here at this school.

"I assume that you are uncomfortable answering the question, so I won't force you to answer,"

"W...well I guess I can tell you," Ying took a moment of silence to gather her thoughts, finding a place to start in her answer.

"I'm listening," reminded Andros.

Ying took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"The fact is, no nobody in this school really likes me. Everybody seems to make fun of me, calling me names and wish I had never existed. Why would anyone want to be friends with a loser like me? Does that answer your question?" ask Ying.

Andros stared at Ying for a moment and looked away. Ying's heart had suddenly felt empty because she basically told Andros that she's a total loser in the school. He will soon agree with her and will start to hate her too, or that's what she thought.

"I'm sorry for not telling you about this earlier and I know you're pretty upset that you are here with someone who's a disappointment which is me. Only if I had to tell you earlier, you wouldn't feel sorry for hanging out with me and I'm pretty sure you hate me now," said Ying. Her expression became dark and dreary, realizing that all of this was a mistake. He wasn't supposed to know, but she had told him anyways. After finishing her statement, Andros turned back to her with a confused look.

"What are you talking about? Don't be silly, I'm not upset nor do I hate you. The other students are just jealous that you are different and special," praise Andros. It was now Ying's turn to be confused a blank face appeared o her face in questioning.

"Huh?"

"It's pretty unusual for me to hold conversations with another person like this since I'm not the type of person who likes to express myself very much, but you somehow managed to make me express some remorse for you," explain Andros. Ying remain silent, as she understood a bit about Andros but she doesn't understand his purpose for doing this for her.

"Look, if this is your way of making me feel better, I..."

"I'm telling the truth. Is that too much for you to handle?" interrupt Andros.

"Okay. And?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this but..." Andros sighed for a moment as he looked away in embarrassment. "I wanted to ask if you want to be friends," Ying notices his humiliation as she smiled softly.

"Why are you looking away? Are you scared someone might see you propose your friendship to me tough guy?" joked Ying. Andros let out a slight groan as he raises his hands to his face.

"Don't push it. So is that a yes or a no?" asked Andros. Ying was about to accept but remembered that once she accepts his friendship, other students would treat him the same way they treat her. She didn't want him to go through that, especially when he's a new student and they had barely known each other so rejecting wouldn't be a problem...

"If you're thinking that everyone might call me a loser, forget it. It's not like I care about what they say. I rather hang out with someone like you who is understanding,"

Those words sent Ying's heart to glow in joy, for that was the first time she has heard something so heartwarming in a long time.

"Fine. Let's be friends. But if you people end up hating you, don't blame it on me," said Ying. Andros' mouth extends in a small grin.

"Deal," Andros felt an unexpected pain on his arm as he gripped it tightly. Ying gave him a look of worry as she gently touched his painful arm in comfort.

"Andros! A...are you okay?" asked Ying. Andros released his arm and slowly stood up from his seat.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go," said Andros. He quickly left the library as Ying sat there in confusion. At first, she thought she had done something wrong, causing him to leave, but she found herself jumping to conclusion.

"It's probably some business to take care of. That's all," Ying said to herself.

"I'm not sure what you guys were talking about, but you really need to stay away from him," said an arrogant voice. The voice startled Ying as she looked around to find where it was coming from. Then, Skye revealed herself from her hiding spot, where she stood behind the bookshelves. Ying's body began to tense up at the sight of Skye who didn't look happy at all. Whenever Ying found herself talking to Skye, it usually means trouble but it looks like there's no way to back away from this.

"Skye? What are you doing here?" ask Ying. She closed her book slowly and stared at Skye incautious.

"I heard you talking to Andros just now. I know Andros may be a real hottie but he's mine slut, not yours. It's better that you stay away from him, or else..."

Skye paused for a dramatic effect, but Ying did not bother to say anything. Talking back to her wasn't going to make things better. As Ying stayed silent, Skye smugged, knowing that Ying would be too scared to say anything back.

"Or else I would tell everyone your secret about your dad,"

Ying stood up immediately to face Skye as a bit of anger was built inside of her.

"You don't know anything about my dad!" said Ying.

"Oh really?" Skye walked towards her and whispered into her ear with a wicked grin. "I heard your dad left your mom when you were born. That's sad that you never had a father figure in your life,"

Ying eyes in shock and fear by her words as her body froze in disbelief.

 _H...how did she know?_

"So you better be a good girl and stay away from him," whisper Skye in a harsh voice. Skye walked past Ying and left the library, leaving the feeling of a lost hope inside Ying. She slowly began to clean up her books as she tried her best to restrain her tears from coming out.

During class, Ying stayed silent and avoided eye contact with everyone around her. When Andros entered into the classroom, it caught her by surprise for a bit that Andros was in the same class as her but Skye's words reminded her of the consequences. Andros looked around the classroom and spotted Ying sitting in the corner of the classroom alone as he walked over to her.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to be in the same class as I am," said Andros.

Ying didn't respond nor looked at his direction. Andros was about to speak up again until Skye interrupted him.

"I think she's not in a good mood and should be left alone. You can come sit next to me Andros!" exclaim Skye.

Andros took a moment to look at Ying and then sat down at the seat next to Skye. His gut feeling told him that Skye had done something to Ying to make her ignore him, but he doesn't have enough evidence to prove it. Skye sent a sly smile at Ying as Cassie who sat next to her giggle mockingly.

"What a total loser," whispered Cassie.

"I know right," reply Skye. They both watched Ying in disgust and at that moment, Skye's eyes lited up in excitement. "Hey, I think I have an idea of making her life more miserable,"

"Really? What's that?" asked Cassie. Skye looked back at Andros to make sure he wasn't eavesdropping on her plan. Andros was looking out the window thinking, which left Skye a perfect chance to share her

"Come closer, I'll tell you,"

Skye silently described her plan, but Cassie became a little hesitant.

"Don't you think that's a little cruel?" questioned Cassie.

"Whose side are you on? Her side or mine?" asked Skye.

Cassie couldn't help but sighed and go along with it.

"Fine, but you'll be the one responsible if one of us gets into trouble,"

"Deal," reply Skye with a smirk.


End file.
